Book Cover: The King in Yellow

The King in Yellow

As you all know I never finished the book; I got sick of reading one chapter per week and then making stuff up. Sometimes I wish Robert Chambers would have just written the play and allowed us to turn into blithering idiots. But he didn’t, and that begs the question: what’s the play about? What goes on, who exactly are the characters, and what on earth is the King in Yellow?

For real this time. What is this spectral creature? Who is this Bloody Mary of the day, and why is he reading romance novels? And where in the hell did he get that tattered cloak, the thrift shop? Who gave him the cash? What would the fox say?

So many questions!

If you followed along, or at least read my rant, you’d know what my thoughts are on the King of Yellow. I believe that he is death. So what now? What does death look like? I really wanted to get back into the art, and wanted to experiment in photoshop again, so I got to work. Here is my version of The King in Yellow.

Book Covers

I love lush book covers, and I especially love the covers of older books, because that’s where they went all out with the cover art. For myself, those covers were works of art, and also very nostalgic (and a sign of better times some might say). That isn’t to say that many covers are not beautifully designed these days, because they are; however, there are only a few which stick out. Does anyone remember The Night Circus? I swooned when I saw the cover! The shadowbox art was pure genius! It stuck out from the shelf like a sore thumb! Amongst so many books, that’s a very good quality to have right away. They say to never judge a book by its cover, but often the cover is the most important thing about the book. If the cover’s not interesting why should I pick up the thing? Advertising. Pure and simple.

As a designer I always try to get back into the art; it isn’t always easy. Sometimes it doesn’t work, and sometimes there isn’t enough time. Graphic design is all about the process, baby, and that means it’s not about you at all. Even for a personal project, it becomes less about you and more about the work. Sheesh! So, one of the main goals behind the project was to make the art work!

The Design

Before I show off the progress work, I wanted to explain a few details about the design. Someone might mention something about the type: I chose something simple, which would keep things clean. Also, in the older cover designs, you’d find the blocky text; sometimes it went with the art, sometimes it didn’t. The cover art was always more important (not that it still isn’t, but you get my drift).

I chose to show the skull, or the pallid mask, and a bit of the hood. I think the King in Yellow is death, so . . . The other stuff was added in as I went along. A golden eye, tears of blood. Who knows the rhyme or the reason? I imagine the play itself would be a roller coaster ride of some sorts, so why not introduce some cool things.

I think that’s all I can say for now, so enjoy!

P.S: Interesting tidbits on this wikia page. Personally I’d prefer to make my own stuff up, but so would the rest of us.

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